Some Things Never Change

Andy and I lived in Migdal HaEmek 35 years ago. The town has grown, so I wasn’t sure if we would find our way around, but we did.

Our apartment stands at the top of the hill, a little worse for the wear, but it still has an amazing view of the Jezreel Valley. Just below us where the grapefruit trees had grown, the hills have been terraced to hold roads, houses and apartments so it is no longer on the very edge of the town. But is you look past that, the view is still beautiful.

When we lived in Migdal the small town has less than 5,000 residents, mostly Moroccan. Today there are about 25,000 with a large Russian community. The Russian influence is so strong I saw many signs in the shops in Hebrew and Russian, but no English.

The Josephtal School, where I taught is still open. It is more run down and smaller than I remembered. Now there is a security gate and a guard. i had to use my best smile and all the Hebrew i could manage to convince him to let me in to walk around the campus. The staff was as warm and friendly as I had remembered.